This Too Shall Pass: Finding Inspiration in Gospel Music (Originally posted on facebook 4/24/2014)

My views on religion are no secret to anyone who knows me, but probably less known is that there are times when I need inspiration and an anchor to keep me focused so as not to get so caught up in my struggles I lose sight of my path. There is nothing like a good gospel song to provide the catharsis such a moment requires. Though I have never, and could never, subscribe to the supernatural message in gospel music, the themes common to the genre: that life is a struggle but we have the strength (some would say from God), I would say from within and from those around us, to persevere and that no matter how low we may feel we always have so much more to be thankful for.

For me gospel is also inextricably linked to my family (probably the only musical genre we can all agree on) and my upbringing in a Southern home, mostly in the South. Wherever I am in the world, when I am feeling world-weary and off-center, gospel music is the perfect mix of inspiration and motivation, sprinkled with history and home; stability in my constantly changing world. A musical home cooked meal if you will.

Mika once commented after I started working at ATD, after a particularly low point in my life, he found it amazing how I stayed so optimistic and in relatively good spirits, during more than a year of unemployment. I think my upbringing and the message of gospel was instrumental. I remember as a child whenever someone asked someone at church how they were doing, if things were not going well they would still answer "I woke up this morning and I have my health". Sometimes just remembering you're healthy and alive is enough to motivate you to "find a way where there is no way".

I have probably listened, willingly, to more gospel over the past ten years then I did the the first two decades of my life; proving that often appreciation comes with age. Moreover, it comes when we are at our lowest. No surprise that I "discovered" the power of gospel when I was no longer under the protective wings of my parents and forging my own path in life.

Because in life a little rain must fall, there are those moments where we question, doubt, second guess and fret over our lives and our choices. Fortunate are those who have family, friends or lovers who can bear some of the load and to lend a sympathetic ear. But at night, when those doubts come creeping back, as they inevitably will, hearing someone sing "I have decided, I'm committed, that I'll run even though at times I may get lost" (Smokie Norful), somehow puts things in focus.

It is definitely not religion for me. But is it spirituality or perhaps a philosophy? I don't know, but the soundtrack is unmistakable, the same powerful soundtrack of slaves in the field, of my grandparents in the Jim Crow South, my parents working to give their children all the advantages in life they never had, and now me at a moment of self-doubt despite being on this incredible journey. There is nothing like gospel, songs of joy, hope and praise during such dark times to reassure me, that "he never gives you more than you can bear, this too shall pass" (Yolanda Adams).